By Amy Burtch

You may have heard of NC State University’s Howling Cow® ice cream, but you may not know who created this Wolfpack institution — Gary Cartwright and Carl Hollifield (unless you’re affiliated with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where they are basically food innovation royalty). 

Former and current directors of NC State’s dairy enterprise system, these two take pride in helping create every Howling Cow flavor, from Wolf Tracks to Tuffy’s Toffee, so they became frustrated when they could not perfect a great coffee ice cream. 

So, Cartwright and Hollifield did what they always do when faced with a challenge. They put their heads together and, with the support of the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences (FBNS), developed a solution. 

Complē Coffee™ is an Arabica coffee bean powder product with many applications, and the NC Food Innovation Lab (NCFIL) helped them create one of those applications. 

Seeking Better Coffee Ice Cream

With a strong demand for coffee ice cream, Cartwright and Hollifield sought to perfect the flavor. 

“We lamented, ‘Why can’t we do the same thing with coffee that the industry does with cocoa?’ We became obsessed with this concept,” Cartwright says.

Naysayers said it wasn’t possible — that they would destroy the flavor — but they were “stupid enough not to listen.”

Hollifield describes some misfires along the way. Once, they added Turkish ground coffee to the white ice cream base. The flavor was phenomenal, but they almost blew up the homogenizer. “We wanted to be disruptive to the coffee flavor industry, not the food processing industry,” he says. 

It took two years, but they eventually developed the best process and packaging, and Complē Coffee™ was born. An intense coffee flavor ingredient, the powder has low moisture, high nutritional density and superior sustainability. Complē™ pulls its flavor, aroma, color and nutrients directly from the coffee bean. 

FBNS, NCFIL Bring Complē to Life

Cartwright and Hollifield collaborated with the FBNS department, calling on the sensory analytical coffee expertise of MaryAnne Drake, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Food Science, who helped with formulation, sensory analysis and final product evaluation. Keith Harris, a professor and co-director of undergraduate programs for food science, conducted chemical analysis of the material’s caffeine, polyphenols, fats and moisture. Cartwright anticipates use of both labs for the future expansion of Complē™ product lines. 

Working with NCFIL initially came about “on a whim,” explains Cartwright. He and Hollifield decided to attend the Natural Products Expo West, a packaged foods show, in March 2025. They planned to produce ice cream but wanted to present other product types.

They connected with Raleigh-based Videri Chocolate to create a coffee chocolate bar. They also wanted to make a high-protein bar with coffee and recalled NCFIL’s bar-making expertise. 

Enter NCFIL Interim Director Joseph Hildebrand and his team, who came through with a coffee protein bar in only 25 business days. Senior Food Scientist Lisa Sand’s bar-making acumen supported sample formulation and final product execution. 

“Amazingly, NCFIL quickly went from initial consultation to product concept, development, ordering supplies, production, quality testing and packaging,” Hollifield says. “This is unheard of.” 

Hildebrand says NCFIL’s ability to deliver stemmed from  the quality of the material and the proficiency of the product developer: “It was a case of ingredient quality coupled with technical expertise that expedited the overall process.” 

From Ice Cream to Protein Bars 

Cartwright and Hollifield are segueing into the marketplace with new product development. 

“Our ingredient is so different from what is in the coffee world today,” Cartwright says. “The flavor profile is full coffee bean with all the oils and flavor components potentially lost when creating a concentrate or spray-dried extract.” 

Complē™ is earning national and international interest — from potential ice cream, bakery and whey protein nutrition clients to dairy and plant-based groups and even a spice company. 

Earlier this year, former NASA scientist Ryan Dowdy partnered with Complē™ to design CHARGED!, an espresso mocha READYBAR™ with 200 mg of caffeine, using the Complē™ material. 

Both innovators continue to be surprised by the positive feedback from the industry. “It’s better than we thought, and it’s a good position to be in,” Cartwright says. 

A Food Innovation Partner in NCFIL 

Cartwright and Hollifield consistently brainstorm new product lines and will count on NCFIL to support them. “NCFIL appreciates the teamwork aspect of partnering with universities,” Hildebrand says. “We are as excited as Gary and Carl to try this ingredient in a variety of formats.”

Complē™ is just one example of how NCFIL partners with NC State students, faculty and community members to scale up and commercialize innovative food ingredients or products. 

This post was originally published in College of Agriculture and Life Sciences News.